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Science Investigations that all students should do Before High School #9: Ivory Soap Cloud

#9: Ivory Soap Cloud

This experiment has been around so long, that you can find it many places. We placed the Ivory soap bar in the center of a plate and into the microwave. Cook the bar for 2 minutes on high in the microwave. When your soap cloud is finished, let it cool before letting the kids touch it.

You can also do a comparison with Ivory soap and another brand of soap, putting them in water to see if they sink or float. Ivory soap floats because it has air pumped into it when it is made.

has come up with a wonderful recipe for Fluffy Bathtub Paint recipe that uses the microwaved Ivory soap, but since we were going for the cloud theme, we just left ours in the cloud state for them to play with.

The science behind it?Charles Law states that when a gas is heated, its volume will increase. All that air that had been pumped into the soap when it was made increased dramatically in volume.Review physical vs. chemical change, and note that this is a physical change.